THEATER:’Fraud,’ ‘Nebraska’ are the cream of repertory’s crop in 2006

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of four columns chronicling the year in local theater.

Now well into its fifth decade, South Coast Repertory continues to bring local audiences a steady diet of challenging, thought-provoking theater, from the outlandish to the erudite, from the classics to potential masterpieces of the 21st century.

At no time is SCR any nearer to the pulse of its audience as when it delves into the psyches of ordinary individuals, often those occupying the lower rungs of life’s food chain. This was the case in 2006 with the year’s two most riveting productions emanating from 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

This column’s top laurel must go — but just barely — to Beth Henley’s “Ridiculous Fraud.”

To quote the Pilot’s review, “SCR’s elaborately outlandish production, beautifully directed by Sharon Ott.” Henley’s Southern-fried characters never seemed more immediately real as in this exceptional experience. “ ‘Ridiculous Fraud’ is definitely ridiculous, but hardly fraudulent to its audiences as it dissects a rather pathetic Southern family and mines its subjects for both chuckles and belly laughs,” was the way we put it at the time.

Right behind, at a very close second, is the West Coast premiere of “The Man From Nebraska,” Tracy Letts’ “quietly compelling play,” which “thrust its conflicted figure center stage in a brilliantly involving production.” Director William Friedkin, best known for his work on movies such as “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection,” as we commented, “patiently builds his production detail by minuscule detail, amplifying the play’s peripheral characters through their interaction with the central figure.”

Moving into the realm of Hollywood, “Hitchcock Blonde,” directed by its author, Terry Johnson, ranks third on an impressive list. “The central theme of obsession, often elevated to dangerous levels, comes across resoundingly” was the way this column stated its analysis.

“Blue Door,” playwright Tanya Barfield’s “unique view of the black experience,” was next in line, a two-character triumph bolstered by “the precise direction of Leah C. Gardiner.” In this clash of ideas and ideals, “both voices carry equal weight, that one is not intended to shame the other.”

No. 5 is a compelling drama, “The Studio,” a play with dance by noted choreographer Christopher d’Amboise, numbering just one more character than “Blue Door.” As this column put it, “The exhausting repetitions and revisions involved separate the merely talented from the fervently dedicated” — and we got actor Terrence Mann as a bonus.

As for individual efforts, top acting honors go to Brian Kerwin and Susannah Schulman. Kerwin “grappled masterfully with his confusion and compulsion” in “Man From Nebraska” and Schulman was hailed for “acting up a storm as Hedda without fear of recrimination for overindulgence, this being the broadest of comic genres” in “The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler.”

Others who particularly excelled on the SCR boards during 2006 were Dakin Matthews as “Hitch” himself in “Hitchcock Blonde” and Nancy Lemenager as an insecure and striving young ballerina in “The Studio.”

Mann’s performance in “The Studio” and Bill Brocktrup’s in “The Real Thing” also were among the gems of the year.

The list of top-notch portrayals at SCR during the year is lengthy, but at the top may be found such names as Kimberly Scott, “The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler”; Susan Dalian, “Man From Nebraska”; Larry Gilliard Jr. and Reg E. Cathey, both for “Blue Door”; John Vickery and Hal Landon Jr., “Nothing Sacred”; Stephen Caffrey and Jeffrey Hutchinson, “Bach at Leipzig,” and Matt McGrath and Betsy Brandt for “Ridiculous Fraud.”

Next week, the spotlight swings over to local community theater productions and performances, followed in the ensuing weeks by a look back at collegiate theater and the Daily Pilot’s 33rd annual Man and Woman of the Year in local theater.